Indonesia’s profile as a key emerging market  has never been higher. Upon hosting heads of state from the world’s largest economies at the G20 summit in Bali, in November 2022, Indonesia was recognized for its strong currency, stable political situation, under-control inflation and demonstrated ability to ensure the resilience, sustainability and competitiveness of an economy that is the world’s 16th largest. Moreover, the Joko Widodo regime has taken unprecedented steps to encourage investment via fiscal incentives; by opening up new geographic regions for investment; through a massive, nationwide upgrade of infrastructure including roads, ports and airports; and a body of laws passed in 2022 (“Omnibus Law”) that aims to simply investment rules across the board. 

The Indonesian investment regime is not yet intuitive as there remains a gap between the intentions of Indonesia’s pro-business policymakers and the experience of investors across the archipelago. While the national government is encouraging investment in the regions, the Omnibus Law tends to give a lesser role to the regions in terms of business licensing matters. Hence, basic consideration such as where to locate a new plant becomes costly and complicated, especially as new toll roads, airports, sea terminals and special economic zones come onstream. 

Jakarta is no longer able contain all the business and governmental affairs of Indonesia: There is now significant spillover into other regions and planning even planning of relocating the capital city to east of Kalimantan, Borneo Island. As the seat of the Indonesia’s second largest city (Surabaya), East Java stands to benefit more than any other province from the eastward flow of development. At present SA Partners is assisting foreign and domestic investors to invest in East Java Province and for this purpose, SA Partners work along together with the Government of East Java Province.

Aside from services that are strictly legal in nature, SA Partners investment services also include research, stakeholder mapping and general advising on how to navigate the Indonesian investment landscape.